C A N A D I A N L a w y e r 4 S T U D E N T S F A L L 2 0 1 5 31
PROS:
+
• Work with leading-edge technology for capturing,
processing, searching, analyzing, and reviewing all kinds of
electronic information, from e-mails and spreadsheets to
medical devices and GPS devices in suspects' cellphones.
• Learn about and monitor the development of new
technologies, including data analytics, sentiment analysis,
artifi cial intelligence, and a variety of machine learning
tools.
• Play a key role in managing others who may be less
comfortable with technology; become a subject-matter
expert who makes their work more eff ective and effi cient.
• Interact with a broader range of experts in other
professions than might otherwise be the case: IT,
networking and information security, cybersecurity,
so ware development, computer science, information
science, data analytics, and linguistics are just a few.
CONS:
–
• You may feel too caught up in technical issues; it can be
hard to maintain close involvement in substantive law.
• Colleagues within a fi rm may see you as less of a "real"
lawyer — even though the purely legal aspects of
e-discovery can be complex and demanding and some
major cases turn on clients' and lawyers' e-discovery
practices and missteps (e.g. Apple v. Samsung).
• "Winning" for your client usually means simply avoiding
unnecessary cost, delay, sanctions, and bad publicity —
and making others' jobs easier. e aggressive use of
e-discovery skills to win cases at the motion stage is not
something we will see in Canada for years to come, if ever.
• You have to be comfortable with concepts and challenges
relating to electronic fi les, formats, databases, connectivity,
and indexing and search methodologies. While some fi nd
these things stimulating, others do not.
Practising e-discovery law
DAVID N. SHARPE, KPMG LLP, Toronto
